Welcome to the Todd B. Hawley Memorial Site

Todd B. Hawley was a great space visionary and is beloved by many. He co-founded the International Space University (ISU) with Peter Diamandis and Bob Richards in 1987 and helped the young university get its foothold. The three also worked to launch the Students for the Exploration and Development of Space (SEDS) and also the Space Generation Foundation.

I never met Todd. I first learned about him through his journals that he posted online. I found them in 1997, two years after his death due to complications of AIDS and he instantly became a hero of mine. His journals started out with the date "Day 10,128" as he learned to appreciate every day he had on this planet.

When I went to ISU in 2000 I asked everyone that I could about him. I still do. This site is a chance for people who knew Todd to post their thoughts and for people who never knew him to get a chance to meet this brilliant young man who gave us so much.

It is also a place to post a link to the YouTube video that tells the story of his life and times and reminds us that bigotry and homophobia and not things to take into space with us. This was the first time that I saw video of Todd and heard his voice. I invite you to watch it.

Please pass on the word about our site and invite others to come and tell their story...

April 13, 1961

Another thing that always struck me about Todd, is that he was born April 13, 1961- the day after Yuri Gagarin first launched into space (I was born on April 12th- so I instantly felt related to Todd as well). He would often say that April 12, 1961 was the start of the space age and they were the Space Generation.

I think that was part of what helped shape Yuri's Night in my mind. I took on that notion that Todd had that that was the start of something really big...